Star Wars - Bria Tharen: Chapter 1
Star Wars - Bria Tharen: Chapter 1 is the first bundle of comic-styled stories in the Star Wars - Bria Tharen ongoing storyline. The first chapter is also known as Trick and Trade. It consists of 5 issues. Story Issue 1: Trick and Trade #1 In 27 BBY, five years before the start of the Clone Wars, Bria Tharen is hanging out in the High Echelon Casino on Nar Shaddaa, when she is approached by a messenger of Jabba the Hutt, who delivers a contract to her, requesting all active smugglers to trace three priceless artifacts that were once Jabba’s and deliver them to his Palace on Tatooine. She accepts the contract and meets with her partners, Lunak and Senna, where she fills them in on the details. Lunak deduces where the three artifacts are, one being on Ocul, another being on Coruscant and the third possibly being on Tatooine itself. Senna is against going to Ocul, telling them of the ghosts of the past living there, but Bria manages to convince them that it is the only way to go if they want to make money and keep the Sapphire Hawk in pristine condition. Revealing that the Sapphire Hawk is a ship that they borrowed from Bounty Hunter Jax Teel and that they would owe an enormous amount of money should it be destroyed, Bria, Senna and Lunak set out on the Sapphire Hawk towards Ocul. Above Ocul however they encounter resistance from fierce storms in the atmosphere, which makes it very difficult to navigate through. Ultimately Bria and Lunak manage to land the ship near an ancient structure and Lunak and Senna are just happy they were able to land safely ad not die. Bria inputs the coordinates to the location that the messenger had given her and find out the coordinates are a while further. They disembark on their speeders that were stored aboard the Sapphire Hawk, but find themselves followed by competitors including Jax Teel himself and his droid Zevoor. Ultimately Senna and Lunak are shot down but tells Bria to continue for the artifact as they will attempt to hold back Jax Teel and Zevoor and any other possible competitors. Bria continues her way as Jax Teel is stopped in his tracks by Senna and Lunak, before she begins to find out that getting to the artifact may not be that easy. Issue 2: Trick and Trade #2 Bria made her way down to the coordinates she assumed were those of the artifact, but faced a natural obstacle in her way, along with Jax Teel having made his way around Lunak and Senna. She discovers the artifact, an ancient Massassi blade forged by the Dark Side of the Force, was hidden away in a stone built temple outside the superstructure that they landed by. When she attempts to sweep away the blade, the ancient defenses of the Temple activate, releasing a group of Ancient Force Sentinels that forces Jax and Bria to call a truce and fight them off together. They ultimately succeed, but Jax manages to get away with the blade. Now hunting him, Bria attempts to trap him within an enclosed surrounding when she is joined by Senna and Lunak. Lunak attempts to get closer to Jax, but something invisible holds him off. Senna points to an ancient enscription on one of the pillars, which Lunak translates as a barrier surrounding them not allowing anyone not pure to pass. Bria squeezed her eyes to see what was in the description further. This however gives Jax the time to escape her grip and he tries to find another way out of the Temple that they are in. As more of their competitors close in, they are able to get through the entrance of the Citadel, but the natural and unnatural defenses of the Citadel prevented them from ruining anything. Bria meets with a young smuggler named Kol Eka, a young Kage, who is against the destruction of the ancient place here on Ocul and they together attempt to stop Jax from leaving. At that point Senna and Lunak had returned to the Sapphire Hawk and held Jax and Eka under shot as Bria retrieved the blade. Bria then disappeared from the planet, as Jax and Kol struggled against each other when a planet's natural storm kicked up. Jax was able to get onto his own ship and fly off, but Kol Eka returned into the Citadel, bowing before a great statue of Uaos, revealing himself as an Avatar of Uaos, saying the blade's curse is finally off the planet, before returning to his own ship and flying off. With the blade in her possession Bria decides they should head to Coruscant. Issue 3: Trick and Trade #3 The Sapphire Hawk arrives in orbit of Coruscant when Bria Tharen, Lunak and Senna evaluate the location of the next artifact, an ancient gemstone that Jabba the Hutt desires. It is revealed to be located in the middle of the Senate Building, in its lower levels in the Exposition Gallery. Realizing that the Gallery probably is already infiltrated through other means, Lunak creates a false identity for himelf and Bria, while Senna remains with the ship. With those false identities, Bria and Lunak get into the Senate Building, where they accidently bump into Senators Mon Mothma of Chandrila and Guzz Lanmar of Mon Cala. While almost rising suspricion, Kol Eka comes to the rescue, who is revealed to have infiltrated the Palace under the guise as a new adminstrative clerk. He makes the necessary preparations for Bria and Lunak to get to the Gallery and Bria asks Kol why he is helping them. Kol reveals that the gemstone that the Hutt wants is an ancient artifact of the Kage and he too wants it, but he believes that Bria is equal, pure of heart and willing to do good. Bria confirms this, saying as long as it is for a payday. Together they get into the Gallery and manage to disable the alarms, but Lunak doesn't trust Kol. While Bria finds it weird that she doesn't run into any competitors like Jax Teel, they make a dash for the gemstone located on the other end of the Gallery. At that time, Z4-K2 and other hunters barge in, shooting apart the guards and visitors and Bria and Lunak become locked in a firefight. This gives Kol the time to retrieve the gemstone and escapes. Kol and Bria rendezvous and Bria says they did well, but Kol double crosses her, saying this is an artifact for the Kage and he alerts the Senate Guard. Kol and Bria briefly fight but Bria and Lunak are forced to flee to the Sapphire Hawk, where they learn that Senna has wandered off. It is revealed that Senna was bothered by a small astromech droid named T5-C1 and he manages to pull off the restraining bolt, to which the droid is thankful for and tags along to the ship. Without the gemstone but with a new companion to the ship they set off for Tatooine. Issue 4: Trick and Trade #4 With the help of T5-C1, Bria Tharen manages to track down Kol Eka to exactly where he is, which is also on Tatooine while Lunak and Senna figure out that the final artifact is within Tora Ulang, a well guarded Tusken Raider compound, but in the vicinity of a vicious Sarlacc pit which they revere. As it happens the leads lead back to both of the targets and Bria believes they can take two chances at once. They land far outside the compound and leave T5 with the ship as he wouldn't fare well in the sand. They make their way up on a hill where they scout out the compound and come to the realization that it will not be easy to break in. Lunak then reveals the artifact for which they came, a Krayt Dragon Pearl that was held by the Tusken Raider Shaman Tsururrur. As they make a careful approach their competitors including Jax Teel and Kol Eka fight their way in which gives Bria and the others the oppurtunity to get in unnoticed. They then have to track down the hutt of Tsururrur, which is hidden well, but not unfindable. Lunak points out that one stands out and Bria agrees to check it out. While Senna and Lunak stand guard, Bria enters it and finds the Pearl, but is then engaged by both Kol and Jax. Bria is able to hold them both off, but is surprised when Kol knocks out Jax and Kol reveals that as much as he doesn't like the situation, he believes an alliance between the two of them is more beneficial. As more and more Tusken Raiders arrive, Bria accepts his offer, but when they get out, Lunak and Senna are surrounded by Tusken Raiders, who had been alerted by the rival of Jabba the Hutt, Gardulla the Hutt who vied for the control of the planet. Luckily T5 pilots the Sapphire Hawk into the airspace and assaults the Tusken Raiders along with Jax's ship controlled by Z4-K2. While they escape Tora Ulang, Jax remains at the mercy of Tsururrur. Bria refuses to let Kol aboard her ship as they fly off and Kol smirks saying he still has one last trick, the gemstone he stole from Bria on Coruscant. As the palace of Jabba comes into view, the Sapphire Hawk is attacked by both Jax's ship and a pair of Gardulla's Sandskimmers. They barely avoid being shot down but do have to avert from their current direction to Jabba's palace, forcing them land in the desert in order to make repairs or get to Jabba's palace on foot. In the meantime Kol arrives at Jabba's palace revealing that he has one of the three artifacts that Jabba wants and can get the other two. Jabba gives him command of a group of Gamorrean guards and a Sandskimmer to get to the location but also threatens him with death if he doesn't come through. Issue 5: Trick and Trade #5 With Lunak, Senna and T5-C1 working on repairing the Sapphire Hawk. Bria Tharen attempts to plot the fastest course to Jabba the Hutts palace. She succeeds, but Kol Eka arrives with three Sandskimmers. They lay siege on the position of Bria and her crew, but the crew manages to hold them off pretty good, even managing to force one to crash on the surface. Bria, Lunak and Senna kill most of the Gamorrean guardsmen that joined Kol but in a one on one struggle between Kol and Senna, Senna's lower left arm gets cut off. Ultimately Bria knocks Kol out and stuns him to assure that he would not form a threat before retrieving the gemstone he had stolen before. Taking the final Sandskimmer that was left by the fleeing Gamorrean guards, Bria orders Lunak and T5 to get the ship ready to jump off planet as she will finish the contract. On her way to the palace however, she is ambushed by Jax Teel and Z4-K2, who demands additional payments for the Sapphire Hawk as they damaged it. Bria refuses and instead calls Bib Fortuna claiming she fulfilled the contract and has all three the artifacts that Jabba was looking for. Fortuna agrees to rely the message to his master but still tells Bria that she needs to make it to the palace. A chase ensues, with Zevoor badly damaging the rear rotor of the Sandskimmer, but Bria manages to crashland the Sandskimmer on one of the outer platforms of the palace and Jax holds off realizing Bria is now out of his reach. Entering the chamber of Jabba, Bria presents him with the three artifacts, the gemstone, the blade and the pearl. Jabba congratulates her on a hunt well done and orders Bib to pay her, but Bria raises her blaster against Jabba. She demands the Black List, the list of the most notorious bounties and smuggling operations in the galaxy. Jabba orders Bib to hand her a copy, as the artifacts are way more valuable to him then the Black List. Jax then breaks in and tells Jabba Bria cheated, but Jabba laughs it off saying Bria won and Jax should get lost, before he informs Gardulla the Hutt of his whereabouts. Jax informs Bria this is not over yet. Before leaving, Bria acquires a large sum of credits for completing the contract and she returns to the Sapphire Hawk with a Sandskimer, where Lunak and T5 managed to repair it to get them off the planet and also stabilize Senna's condition. Lunak asks Bria whether she got it and Bria reveals the Black List, saying they can now start searching, revealing that the all time target of the contract was for her the acquisition of the Black List, revealing that one of the names on the Black List is that of her father, Brayden Tharen. The Sapphire Hawk then sets off from Tatooine, ready to go into the wide galaxy. Chapters 1 - 2 - 3